An overview of the masterbatch industry in 2019

The world of plastic is getting diverse and ubiquitous. The versatile nature of polymers helps plastic processors to make products in various shapes, sizes, colours and functionalities. Plastics are coming with higher durability, strength and glossy finish to appeal to the consumers in the market. Processors are trying to make plastic products more appealing to achieve commercial success while satisfying users needs.

Masterbatches are driving the growth of plastic markets around the world. The additives are useful to create polymer products according to the requirement of consumers. The glossy surface, special effects, and other features are added to a product during the polymerization process.

The valuable additives are found in three categories in the market:

• Colourant
• Additives
• Special effect masterbatch

The improvement in polymer processing is taking place due to continuous research and development of companies in chemical engineering. More research is being done to enable polymer product’s recycling, eco-friendly, and durability for consumers. Many companies are improving their research capabilities with a robust infrastructure for ground-breaking innovation in this field.

Key facts of the masterbatch industry

According to a report, the masterbatch market is expected to grow to USD 14 billion by 2023 from 11 billion in 2018. It means the growth of the industry will be about 5% CAGR every year. The Asian Pacific region is expected to lead the growth story of this sector.

Masterbatch is a mixture of pigments, additives and carrier resins. There are different types of masterbatches produced in the industries. The common masterbatches are colour, white, additives and fillers.

The primary use of a masterbatch is to colour and strengthen the properties of polymers. Further, applications of additives take place in packaging, construction, consumer goods, automotive accessories, textile and agriculture sectors. Another critical function of a polymer additive is to enhance the processability of polymers.

Growth Opportunities in the Industry

There has been a steady growth of the masterbatch market in the last few years. The growth has attributed due to the increasing demand for packaging materials in the industry. Further, the emerging economies such as India, China and Brazil present a massive scope for growth in this sector.

The colour masterbatches will continue to reign this market in the coming years. The main reason for this growth will be increasing the use of colourants like white masterbatch in various applications like packaging, consumer goods, automotive, agriculture products and textile, among others. Thus, colourants will be significant contributors to the growth of this industry.

The masterbatches are further divided based on their applications in the industry. Industries produce special polymer additives for packaging, building and construction, food and beverage, personal care, medical household, electrical and electronics, and others. The black masterbatch has vast uses in making electrical due to its insulation properties while adding blackness to a product. Thus, these polymer additives have huge uses in different sectors.

Conclusion

The polymer product market is expected to grow even faster soon. With this growth, polymers enhancing the processability and impacting the mechanical properties of products will be in high demand from processors around the world.

The author has a keen interest in gathering information about plastic manufacturing processes. In this article, he has written about the significance of white and black masterbatch in the industry.